“Basically, I never worked on my shot,” Ukic said. “In Europe I came too young with the first team when I was 15. I wound up skipping parts of my development. In Europe you work on your development until you come into the professional ranks. Once you are with the first team you are just working on the team stuff, the technical stuff. They don’t work so much on individual stuff so I’m missing some of the fundamentals, especially on my shot.”
Herbert, who has an extensive coaching resume across Europe, admitted Ukic’s lack of shooting fundamentals were unexpected.
“I was a little bit surprised because he played for some pretty good coaches in Spain and Italy,” Herbert said. “And coming from Yugoslavia, which is one of the best teaching countries in the world, I was surprised. He’s kind of a gym rat and I’ve heard the Split program (the Adriatic League team where Ukic played his first four years as a pro) isn’t what it used to be with (Toni) Kukoc and those guys not around, so I think maybe he got caught in between. Being a gym rat he did a lot of shooting on his own and he picked up those kind of habits.”
Ask Herbert what part of the stroke needs fixing and the answer is “basically the whole thing.”
“Part of the problem is when he shoots he brings it all the way down here,” said Herbert, bringing an imaginary ball down to his knees. “And now it has so far to go. His left hand winds up over the ball, so there are a bunch of things. That’s why we’re starting from ground zero and just doing plenty of repetitions the proper way so it becomes natural for him.”
Ukic understands patience will be a necessity but he already has shown plenty of that in his career.
“It will take some time,” Ukic admits. “I will probably go through some tough times, but I know I have to work on it. I can hit shots for two or three games in a row, but over five games I can be 0-for-10 or 0-for-12 over the other two or three. I am just not consistent.
PASS FIRST
“I’m not the type of point guard who will take 10-15 shots a game, but for sure when I’m wide open I need to hit it no matter whether it’s a mid-range jumper or a three-pointer,” he said. “The problem with my shot is it is different all the time. Sometimes I shoot perfect and sometimes I shoot completely some other way.”
“I got some air balls in the practices so far,” said Ukic the other day. “I just need to reduce this.”
And as for his defence?
“I never had a problem on defence in Europe,” he said. “But I expect I will go through some tough times here.”
His self-assessment stands in stark contrast to usual delusional self-belief. And the kid’s not being too hard on himself. His first NBA season should be a lot like his jumper – a jarring leap forward.
Ukic, who’ll be vying with Will Solomon, the Euro-seasoned American, for backup point guard duties this season, launches his bombs from the field like a skinny high-school kid heaves them: He turns every one of them into a standing broad jump, landing a foot or more in front of his takeoff spot.
And if this appears to be a fundamental no-no – if it turns a stationary target into a moving one – consider that everyone’s an expert, and that a combination of athletic talent and hard work can compensate for poor technique.
“He’s a true 6-foot-5, so he’s a big point guard. He sees the court, he’s really clever at hitting the open guy,” said Raptors executive Maurizio Gherardini.
The early money, though, is on Solomon – a noted marksman who has been a key component to some of Europe’s best teams over the past handful of years – to get most of the backup run out of the gate.
“(Ukic and Solomon) are different,” said Calderon. “One (Ukic) is 23, the other one 30. Sometimes that’s the only difference.”
They are the same in one way – in these days of a depressed U.S. greenback, they both left many Euros on the table to take a shot at the NBA. Even if nobody has seen Ukic in any consequential action this autumn, perhaps that says something about his raison d’être.
“He’s here, working and working, and he’s putting a lot of time into his game,” said Gherardini.
“He’s a smart, young, hungry kid who wants to succeed, so don’t be surprised.”
“One thing we did really well is really space the floor,” O’Neal said. “We really struggled with that in some of the other scrimmages. In a couple of the previous three scrimmages in training camp our spacing was terrible, especially with the first group.”
O’Neal also displayed his humourous side on Saturday, when reflecting on the defensive emphasis of the camp.
“Offensively this team has done very, very well over the last three or four years. But defensively they’ve really struggled,” he said. “So they’ve kind of went back to the basics: defensive slides, close-outs. It’s been quite a challenge to tell you the truth. We did some things that I haven’t seen since the beginning of my basketball career.”
Remember back in the summer time when I told you Joey Graham was going to tear it up in summer league. Well I was right about that one. But what I also said was don’t take it to mean anything. I said that I refused to get fooled by Joey Graham again. So it was not shocking to me when Joey ends up getting a bad hamstring that caused him to sit on the sidelines for most of the time in Ottawa. I am just done with Joey Graham and even if he comes around to any degree this season I can not imagine a way I would be saying that the Raptors should resign him. But if you hold out hope for Joey I will say this to you, if Joey is EVER going to get it this is the year he has too. Not just to stay with the Raptors but to stay in the NBA. He has had lots of time to show us more than flashes of brillance and I am still waiting.
They took a big gamble this offseason by going after Jermaine O’Neal, but if he stays healthy it could end up being a huge steal. O’Neal has always been a bit overrated as an offensive option, but he could really change the face of the Raptors defense. They’ve lost a bit of their depth with the departure of Carlos Delfino and Rasho Nesterovic, but I wouldn’t expect it to hurt them that much. There are certainly a lot of question marks (O’Neal’s health, Bargnani’s progress, point guard depth), but there’s a ton of talent on this team, and it’s very well balanced. They have shooters, slashers, defenders, and a top-notch point guard/post player combo in Calderon and Bosh. If O’Neal stays healthy, this is not a team you want to see in the playoffs.
5th in the East -
To my knowledge, there will be no radio or TV coverage for the Cavs and Raptors on Tuesday night but Paul Jones and I will bring you the action of the Knicks and Raptors on Wednesday (assuming there’s not a Game 5 between the Rays and White Sox) and I believe Matt Devlin and Sherman Hamilton will have the call on Raptors TV as well.
In the meantime, I thought some of you might find this useful; the NBA Calendar for 2008-09:
Oct. 24—Preseason ends.
Oct. 27—Rosters set for opening day, 6 p.m. EST.
Oct. 28—Start of regular season.
Jan. 5—10-day contracts may now be signed.
Jan. 10—All player contracts are guaranteed for the remainder of the season.
Feb. 15—All-Star game (Phoenix).
Feb. 19—Trading Deadline, 3 p.m. EST.
April 8-11—Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational Tournament.
April 15—Regular season ends.
April 16—Rosters set for playoffs, 3 p.m. EST
April 18—Playoffs begin.
April 26—Early entry eligibility deadline (11:59 p.m. EDT).
May 19—Draft lottery.
June 5—NBA finals start date (possible move-up to June 3).
June 15—NBA draft early entry entrant withdrawal deadline (5 p.m. EDT).
June 18—NBA finals latest possible end date.
June 25—NBA draft.
And what lies at the end of the season according to Jack? A second-round appearance with an outside shot at the Conference Finals. That’s a lot of things that need to happen if we want to have our best ever season. It’s an optimistic article but keep in mind that this is the time to be optimistic and in fairness to Jack he did bring up the major question marks on the team, I just wouldn’t bet on us delivering on the 7 points. I think hoping O’Neal plays 70+ games is expecting too much and I don’t think Sam Mitchell is the coach that anyone can have a career year under nor is he a coach that is able to mask our lack of depth by “hiding” weaknesses.
Everyone is excited about this year’s edition of the Raptors. I’d have to agree that expectations are about as high as they have been since 2001-02 when the Raptors were coming off a loss in Game 7 to the 76ers in the Eastern semis. I come into this season as I did that year with high hopes for the team/organization to take the next step on the NBA landscape. The 2001-02 season was a disappointment but I’m confident if things fall in place (knock wood) that this year’s team, coming off back-to-back playoff appearances with 1st round exits, is ready to grow and mature.
The Raptors are a stable organization. They have a committed ownership group, excellent leadership in the front office and a very good coaching staff that’s been together and knows the pluses and minuses of their players better than anyone.
Most importantly, I’ve been around enough to know when I see good character guys as players as well as frauds. I’m quite impressed with the players assembled for this year’s squad.
The number seven is one of my favorite numbers so I thought I’d give you my “Seven Keys” for the Raptors if they are to take the next step this season.
Here we go:
Both Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Bosh are technically power forwards, but in today’s NBA they can more than hold their own at the center position. Again, health will be a factor due to O’Neal’s injury-riddled past, but if he can stay on the floor, and that’s a big if, it could be a dynamic combination.
Bosh is a superstar in the NBA, but by playing for the Toronto Raptors he keeps a low profile. However, he is widely recognized as one of the best big men in the league, he’s a perennial All-Star, an All-NBA performer and Olympian. He can do it all — rebound, defend, shoot, play inside and outside. Team him up with a healthy O’Neal and the results could be spectacular.
O’Neal is quite similar to Bosh in many respects but he does possess a more refined low post, back-to-the-basket game. Like Bosh, he’s a strong rebounder and capable defender. O’Neal’s on-court performance is not in question, rather the amount of time he spends on the trainer’s table instead of the basketball court. I for one hope he stays injury free because with O’Neal at the 5 and Bosh at the 4, they will be an absolute nightmare to defend. They’re both 20-10 guys in their own right, so together — with their versatility, all-around skill and explosiveness — they will be a formidable tandem in the Eastern Conference.
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